The Government’s Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) was created to offer a grant to help you get online and use technology to build your business.
The Boost Your Business Technology Grant can provide:
- Up to $15,000 to develop a Digital Adoption Plan
- Up to $100,000 in 0% interest loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to implement your plan
- Up to $7,300 to hire a skilled youth to implement the technologies that can propel your business forward.
1. The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Loan
As of December 1, 2023, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has updated the eligibility criteria and limit for the 0% loan component of the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) Boost Your Business Technology (BYBT) stream. CDAP and BDC have collaborated on these changes to help maintain program integrity and reduce wait times for loan applicants, thus improving the client experience:
- Applying businesses must have at least $500,000 in annual revenue as of the closing date of their last fiscal year-end
- The 0% loan component will be capped at $200,000 per ‘borrowing group’. This means that BYBT grant recipients who have multiple businesses with common shareholders or financial statements can only be approved for up to $200,000 in combined 0% loans for all their businesses.
2. The Youth Work Placement component of this CDAP Boost Your Business Technology (BYBT) grant to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to be matched with a youth through the program’s delivery partner Magnet:
- Opening the work placement to all youths aged 18-30
- Removing the minimum 450 hours of work requirement
- Allowing SMEs to apply for more than one funded youth placement
- Setting the EDI target to 30% of youth participants
You can get funding through this grant if your business*:
- Is Canadian-owned
- Is a sole proprietor or a business incorporated under the laws of Canada or a province or territory
- Is a for-profit
- Has 1 to 499 employees
- Has had at least $500,000 in annual revenue (but no more than $100M in 1 of the previous 3 tax years).
* Complete eligibility criteria can be found in the program guide.
How to apply
It’s easy: contact us. We’ll discuss the entire process (and the programs) and will put you in touch with the right people to get your application expedited and approved.
Additional info for those who love details:
Key information about the changes to the 0% BDC loan component
1. Is the eligibility criteria for the CDAP BYBT grant changing?
No. The eligibility criteria for the CDAP BYBT grant will remain the same in order to keep the program accessible to as many businesses as possible.
Businesses applying for the grant must demonstrate that they have had at least $500,000 in annual revenue in 1 of the last 3 years. As it stands now, ~95% of BYBT applicants with signed grant agreements meet the updated eligibility criteria for the 0% loan.
2. Will businesses that applied for the 0% loan before December 1, 2023, be subject to the new eligibility criteria and loan limits?
All businesses that applied for the 0% loan and are still awaiting a decision on their application as of December 1st, 2023, will be evaluated against BDC’s updated eligibility criteria and loan limits. This applies regardless of when the application was submitted. For example, if a business applied for the loan on November 25th and it is still being processed as of December 1st, their application will still be assessed using the updated eligibility criteria.
3. What is a ‘borrowing group’?
A ‘borrowing group’ is a group of clients who have a loan with BDC and are related by common shareholders or financial statements.
Example of related clients:
- Common shareholders; or
- Common security or common
- Personal or corporate guarantors; or
- Shared credit accommodations (e.g., where one client is a co-borrower on a line of credit, a common bank account, etc.).
For example: The applicant is the owner of 1 Tim Hortons, 1 Second Cup, and 1 Pizza Hut. The applicant applied for the BYBT grant 3 times and developed a unique Digital Adoption Plan for each business. Because all three restaurants have a ‘common shareholder’, they are considered a part of the same ‘borrowing group’ and therefore the applicant can only be approved for up to $200,000 in combined 0% loans across all 3 businesses.
To confirm that the Boost Your Business Technology grant is right for your business, you can use the CDAP grant assessment tool.
Details about the changes to the Youth Work Placement
The youth work placement component of the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) Boost Your Business Technology (BYBT) stream has experienced lower-than-expected uptake. CDAP and Magnet have collaborated on determining a few areas of improvement within the Contribution Agreement to enhance the appeal of youth work placements and increase uptake. The changes are as follows:
1. Opening the work placement to all youths aged 18 – 30
The amended work placement eligibility is open to all youth aged 18-30, regardless of post-secondary status. This will expand and diversify the talent pool available to SMEs.
2. Removing the minimum 450 hours of work requirement
By removing the minimum hours of work requirement, SMEs can now determine the hourly wage and duration of placements based on their unique business needs and the scope of work for their digital transformation.
3. Allowing SMEs to apply for more than one youth work placement
Offering the option to apply for more than one youth work placement will allow SMEs more flexibility in regard to selecting the right level of support they need to succeed.
SMEs can receive up to the full wage subsidy amount of $7,300 for each eligible youth they hire.
4. Setting the EDI target to 30% of youth participants
Magnet is committed to meeting targets that increase the representation of equity-deserving groups among youth participants and has proposed that the EDI target be set at 30%. This is aligned with the current EDI participation rate of youth participants from Magnet for the youth work placement, with 364 of 956 total youth participants (38%) self-identifying as a member of an equity-deserving group.
Key information about this change
1. Is there a limit on how many youth work placement SMEs can apply for?
No, there is no limit. If an SME would like to apply for 5 youth work placements, they would be eligible to receive $36,500 ($7,300 x 5) in wage subsidies for each eligible youth hired. Each youth is only eligible to work one placement.
2. Will Magnet be informing SMEs who have received the BYBT grant of the changes to the youth placement offering?
Yes, Magnet is planning an email communication to SMEs regarding the changes to the youth placement offering. The CDAP comms team will also be preparing communications regarding these changes for our external stakeholders.
3. Are all SMEs who have received the BYBT grant eligible for this new version of the youth placement?
Yes, all SMEs who have received the BYBT grant are eligible to apply for this new version of the youth work placement, including those who have already received the wage subsidy in the past.
4. What language should I use while referring to the Magnet component of CDAP moving forward?
While CDAP’s official website uses “youth placement”, “funded youth placement”, and “subsidized employee” interchangeably, we commonly refer to this component as “youth work placement”.
Let an Advisor at PFG Financial discuss your grant options with you. We have the experience to look after the eligibility assessment, account creation and claim application for you, and have an outstanding success rate with all our Government grants and loans. Call one of our Advisors to get started at 905-686-8787 or e-mail info@christah1.sg-host.com
